"My own opinion on the efficiency of the state on the project is pretty positive," said Lou Gambaccini, state transportation commissioner in the late 1970s and now director of the Alan Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University.

These are a few of the words used to describe Louis J. Gambaccini, the man responsible for helping to create the New Jersey Transit Corporation, the nation's largest statewide transportation system.Today, more than 25 years later, Governor Jon S. Corzine honored Gambaccini in Newark with the dedication of the Corporation's headquarters building at One Penn Plaza East, overlooking Newark Penn Station.

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In 1978, then-Governor Brendan Byrne selected Gambaccini to serve as the state's Transportation Commissioner at a period when New Jersey's transportation system was an irrational, undercapitalized collection of nearly 30 bankrupt bus companies and seven freight railroads that were providing inadequate service.Gambaccini crafted a strategy to transform the system beginning with a series of policy papers, the most memorable of which was named "The Horror Story," culminating in legislation that created NJ TRANSIT in 1979 - the nation's first statewide public transit agency.

"Lou Gambaccini's enduring legacy continues to touch the lives of millions of New Jerseyans as they travel to work, school and leisure activities," said Governor Corzine, who attended today's dedication ceremony.

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"As the first and founding chairman of the Board of Directors, Lou Gambaccini foresaw the day when New Jersey could deliver safe, reliable and affordable transportation," said Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chairman Kris Kolluri.

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Gambaccini also served at The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), as he shaped transportation policy and developed innovative solutions for more than four decades of public service.He is currently a senior fellow at the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University's Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.